3 Tips to Knock Out Your Sugar Cravings

Sugar cravings kicking your booty? Cake, cookies, donuts calling your name from across the room? Those pretty macaroons giving you the “come hither look’ at the party? Today we talk tips on how to tackle the Little Sugar Gremlin that many people struggle with.

It’s easy to accidentally approach this particular subject with ineffective tapping and improper aiming leaving you frustrated. For instance if you are following the Basic EFT Recipe, chances are, you are not seeing obvious results with sugar cravings. Instead of tapping on “Even though I have this sugar craving, I deeply and completely accept myself.” try this instead…

Vivid Craving Descriptions.Make a list with your answers to these questions…

WHEN do I crave sugar? In the afternoon each day? At night after dinner? On the weekends after a meal? This will allow you to start paying attention to your behavior around sweets.

How do I KNOW I have a craving? For instance, is it a feeling in your body? A taste in your mouth? This will teach you to get in tune with your body.

What thoughts were going through my mind right BEFORE the craving struck? Was it a stressful thought? A happy thought? A sad thought?

What HAPPENED directly BEFORE the craving hit me? Did someone do or say something to you? Did you see something? A look on someone’s face?This will teach you about your emotional triggers that might be sparking the craving.

Answering these questions will get you to exactly where you want to be before tapping. Reminder to write down your answers in a list as each one is a separate tapping subject.

2. The Meaning of Sweets.Discover what sweets mean to you personally. Learn what they do for you.

Growing up, were sugary foods ever used as a REWARD? A treat? A punishment? An incentive to perform?

Were sweets a cause for CELEBRATION? Present at celebrations?

Was there EXCITEMENT around dessert? Anticipation? Curiosity? Boredom? Anger? Other emotions?

It’s important to note that using sweets in the above ways is typical in many cultures and we aren’t criminalizing it here, but anytime strong emotion is attached to a certain food (in this case sugar), when that emotion is present, chances are you will grab for the food it is linked to. You might not even realize that this is happening as it is bound to be an unconscious action by now, after years of accidental practice.

Think about it this way: you take swimming lessons to learn how to swim or you hop on your bike over and over again until your body essentially masters these skills on your behalf. What once felt like an awkward or hard to remember sequence of actions becomes an easy and automatic pattern handled by your subconscious mind, muscles and memory resources. After a certain amount of time and practice your body and unconscious mind take over and essentially do it for you. Your mind knows the motions by heart, your muscles fire in exactly the right way and you don’t even have to think “How do I swim across this pool?” or “How do I ride this two-wheel bike?”

Bringing it back to sweets, you might have automatic patterns or memorized action sequences around sweets in the same way. If sugary foods meant, “Something exciting is happening. Let’s celebrate with cake!” then when you crave excitement or feel excited in your life you will automatically go for sweets every time. Why? Because you have accidentally practiced it for many years.

All we are doing with the EFT Tapping is breaking the unconscious pattern or automatic response. It is really the best tool for the job!

3. What Fills The Space Created.

Any Leftover Feelings. Once you tap these cravings away, ask yourself what will I feel? Will there be any deprivation? Sadness without the sweet treats? This is important to tap on as a final clean up.

A Better Habit. After you have tapped your lists down to low SUDs levels, the next piece is to fill the space with something better. When you let go of a bad habit, you might tap in a habit of your choice. Here are a couple of ideas for inspiration. Tap in what you want to feel in place of the sweets cravings, “I choose to feel satisfied, calm and peaceful.” or “I choose to take a relaxing moment for myself.”

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About me

A little about me and what I do because that's what this blog is all about: my passion for helping people live happier lives. I accomplish this by using Emotional Freedom Technique as the base technique in my coaching practice.